No. 08 of 12 · Survival & building · checked September 2026
Valheim
£23.49Chop, build, sail, die to a troll, come back and build a wall. Valheim’s magic is that the world remembers every evening the group spent in it.
Valheim drops your group in a purgatory of Norse forests with a stone axe and a raven that offers advice. The loop is familiar from survival games, but the tone is gentler: you gather, you build, you cook, you sail to a new biome and you fight one of a handful of bosses that each unlock the next tier of tools. The graphics are deliberately low-resolution and lit like a painting. It ran on a laptop in 2021 and still does.
The group version is where it earns its place. A world is shared, persistent and yours: the base you build, the roads you lay and the portals you link stay there, and a friend who logs in alone on a Wednesday finds your Tuesday’s work waiting. Roles form on their own. Someone becomes the builder, someone the cook, someone the person who insists on sailing further than is sensible. Boss fights need everyone, and a big build is a communal weekend project.
Iron Gate spent five years in early access adding biomes, and version 1.0 arrived on 9 September 2026 with the Deep North, the last region of the map. The launch also brought the game to PlayStation 5 and Switch 2 alongside PC, Mac and Xbox. PC and Xbox have shared worlds for years and both have it on Game Pass, which makes that pairing the cheapest way to get a whole group in; if your group includes the newer consoles, check the official FAQ for cross-play before anyone buys. There is no shop, no pass and no currency: the price on the box is the whole bill.
The costs are time and logistics. Sessions are long, a boss takes preparation, and someone has to host the world or rent a small dedicated server so it exists when the host is away. There is no voice chat, and cross-play on the newest console versions is worth confirming first. For a group that wants a project rather than a match, though, there is nothing better on this list.
What works
- A persistent world the group builds together
- No shop of any kind
- PC and Xbox share worlds, and both have it on Game Pass
- Runs on modest hardware
What to know first
- Long sessions and a world that needs a host
- Cross-play on PlayStation 5 and Switch 2 needs checking
- The first hour is baffling alone
The first evening: four things to do
- Let one person host, or rent a small server
A dedicated server means the world exists when the host is at work, so the early riser can chop wood before everyone else logs in.
- Build the first house together before anyone explores
A roof, a fire and a bed each. It sets the habit of the group and gives everyone somewhere to respawn.
- Cook before you fight
Food is health and stamina. The group that goes to the first boss with cooked meat and berries comes home; the group that goes hungry learns why.
- Agree a chest system early
A shared base with unlabelled chests becomes a source of arguments by week two. Wood, stone, food, ores: four chests and a sign each.
In play
Screenshots and artwork © Coffee Stain Publishing, shown for review.
Verdict
The shared world we would pick for a group with a month and a group chat. Pay once, rent a server if you can, and build something you will show people.
Best for: Three to six friends who want a project that lasts the winter.
Ready to try it?
The official site has the current price, platforms and download links. We do not sell games or take a cut.
Go to valheimgame.com (opens valheimgame.com in a new tab)